Safety ski binding

ABSTRACT

1,108,665. Ski binding. H. MARKER. 27 Aug., 1965 [19 Sept., 1964], No. 36963/65. Heading A6D. A .front jaw for a safety ski binding comprises a sole plate 1 which is adapted to be secured to a ski, a pair of clamping jaws 4, 4&#39; adapted to engage slidably with sole plate 1, one on each side thereof, and a horizontal plate 5, 5&#39; having a central portion provided with arcuate rows of raised serrations 6, 6&#39; in which are seated angular jaw irons 7, 7&#39; secured to the plates 5, 5&#39; by screws 8, 8&#39;; a catch mechanism holds jaws 4, 4&#39; in engagement with the sole plate 1, said catch mechanism being automatically disengageable in the event of lateral forces on the ski boot exceeding a predetermined value. In one embodiment the catch mechanism comprises two detent members 13, 13&#39; pivotally mounted on the sole plate by pivot pins 15, 15&#39; which engage detent notches 12, 12&#39; in the jaw pieces 4, 4&#39; under pressure from an arcuate spring 14. In another embodiment the sole plate is pivoted at its rear end 26 and has a forwardly extending projection 46 which slidably engages a guide rail 47 provided with &#39;two compression springs 39, 39&#39; to engage one against each side of the projection 46, and &#39;the catch mechanism comprises detent notches 30, 30&#39; engaging with detent members 31, 31&#39; mounted on the sole plate and capable of limited axial movement governed by guides 42, 42&#39; on the upper surface of each detent which engage in slots 43 in the cover plate 29. The detents 31, 31&#39; are held in the forward position engaging notches 30, 30&#39; by a fixed cam member 36 and a torsion spring 33 mounted on a pin 44 on the sole plate, the two arms of the spring 34, 34&#39; engaging pins 35 on the detents 31, 31&#39;.

April 1968 H. MARKER 3,378,270

SAFETY SKI BINDING Filed Sept. 7, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HANNESMARKER ATTORNEYS April 16, 1968 H. MARKER 3,378,270

SAFETY SKI BINDING Filed Sept. '7, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.3

INVENTOR HANNES MARKER ATTORNEYS April 6, 1968 H. MARKER 3,378,270

SAFETY SKI BINDING Filed Sept. '7, 1965 3 Sheets-$heet 3 ,23 v INVENTORHANNES MARKER i QQ M %4% AIT R EYS 3,378,270 SAFETY SKI BINDING HannesMarker, Hanptstrasse 51-53, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Filed Sept.7, 1965, Ser. No. 485,432 Claims priority, application Germany, Sept.19, 1964, M 62 501 6 Claims. c1.2s0-11.3s

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE a spring holds the detents or pawls inposition. When an excessive lateral thrust is experienced, the detentsor pawls are caused to release from the cutouts, and one of the jawmembers can slide out to the side, releasing the ski boot.

There are well-known safety ski bindings with lateral jaws, restingagainst the sides of the ski boot in the forward part of the foot. Inthe case of excessive forces which would be dangerous to the skierslegs, such as those forces developed during a sidewise fall of theskier, the binding releases the foot so that it gets out of the binding.On the known safety bindings of this type the lateral jaw lying in thedirection of the lateral force swings out around a vertical orhorizontal axis after having been released by a latching device and thusremains hinged to the rest of the binding after the release. These typesof bindings, with their hinged lateral jaws, have been recommended timeand again for the last three decades but they have never become widelyaccepted in spite of the fact that bindings with lateral jaws areindispensable for cross-country skiing. A strong demand for a lateraljawsafety binding no doubt exists. The reason for the failure oflateral-jaw safety ski bindings with hinged lateral jaws as proposeduntil now may be found in the fact that these bindings are relativelycomplicated on account of their hinges, latching and other devices and,at the same time, are unduly sensitive to the effect of such externalforces as are unavoidable in case of a skiers fall. When in case of asidewise fall the release mechanism of one of the known lateral-jawsafety ski bindings has operated and has thus released the foot of theskier, the lateral jaw having swung out around its hinge protrudes overthe side of the ski but is still flexibly attached to its hinge. Whensuch a lateral jaw, protruding over the side of the ski, hits anobstacle, which is of course a very frequent occurrence, in many casesthe lateral jaw will be bent or the hinge damaged etc, rendering thewhole binding useless. But a safety ski binding must above all be ableto withstand the most severe stresses because such stresses areunavoidable in case of a fall. There is ample evidence that a hinge,when located at the usual spot, weakens the highly necessary staticstrength of a lateral jaw. The usual location of the hinge is betweenthe horizontal part of the jaw resting on the ski and the vertical partresting against the side of the forward portion of the boot. This spotis ordinarily a bend in the whole jaw plate and has thereby a highstatic strength. When this spot becomes a hinge it is too unstable andthereby useless in actual service.

In order to overcome the disadvantages of the known lateral-jaw safetyski bindings, it is proposed by this in United States Patent 0 "icevention: to connect in a safety ski binding with lateral jaws restingagainst the sides of the forward portion of the ski boot, in which incase of an excessive lateral force the lateral jaw lying in thedirection of this force releases the boot, each lateral jaw with ahorizontal receiving plate extending approximately to the longitudinalcenter line of the ski; to shape each lateral jaw with this receivingplate so that it can slide into a component connected with the ski alongguide pieces that are running essentially crosswise to the longitudinaldirection of the ski; to latch the lateral jaws in the insertedposition; and to let them completely slip out of the guide pieces aftertheir release by the latching device due to an excessive lateral force.

Under this invention it is proposed for the first time to have thelateral jaws again rigidly connected with their horizontal receivingplates but to insert these receiving plates only like a drawer in thecorresponding guide pieces of the binding from which they will bereleased completely when excessive lateral forces appear. This is aforce-controlled embodiment of lateral jaws sliding sideways. Such alateral-jaw safety binding can be built exceedingly strong because thereare no hinged parts whose hinges could be damaged after the release ofthe binding. Instead, the lateral jaws with their receiving plates willcompletely slip out of the other binding parts and, therefore, cannot bedamaged. The complications connected with ordinary lateral jaws swingingout from vertical or horizontal hinges are also eliminated.

In order to prevent the loss of the lateral jaws and their receivingplates, another development of this invention lets each lateral jawremain tied to the ski after the release by a short wire cable. Thelatching devices can consist of detents, effective between the ski orthe component attached to the ski on one side and the receiving plate onthe other, which are released as soon as a predtermined lateral forcehas been exceeded. In that case the release of the lateral jaws issolely forcecontrolled.

The receiving plates may also be insertable in guiding devices on a footplate pivoted on a center in the vicinity of the ski boot heel androtatable to a limited extent against a spring force. The limited motionof such a foot plate against the opposing spring force permits theabsorption of minor lateral forces which are not so strong that theymight cause a leg injury and which, therefore, do not have to bringabout a release of the safety binding. Latching devices built tofunction together with the receiving plates can be provided on the footplate in order to be released as soon as the foot plate swivels by acertain angle. As soon as that swivel range of the foot plate isexceeded which corresponds to safe lateral forces, the release, in thiscase deflection-controlled, of the corresponding lateral jaw takesplace, causing it to slip out of the guide and freeing the foot.

On a safety ski binding of the type just described with a foot platepivoting on a center in the vicinity of the heel, and rotatable to alimited extent, having lateral jaws that will be released and free thefoot, it may also be advantageous as a further development of thisinvention but possibly so even without those features of the inventionwhich have been described above, to have the foot plate guided by afront extension along a guide mechanism extending in the longitudinaldirection of the ski, the guide mechanism being equipped with springseach of which is resting with one end against this front extension andone of which will always be deflected by swivel motions of the footplate. In this manner an especially simple construction of a safetybinding has been created with a foot plate pivoting on a center in thevicinity of the heel and with lateral jaws whose release isdeflectionc-ontrolled and can absorb minor lateral shocks without 3releasing the binding. The release however takes place instantly as soonas a swivel angle which corresponds to safe lateral shocks is exceededand there is no danger that the binding will be stuck in an intermediateswivel position.

The invention is explained in greater detail in the followingdescription, showing two embodiments. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view, with the cover plate omitted, of alateral-jaw safety binding according to this invention, on which therelease is controlled by force.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the embodiment in FIG. 1, taken along line22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an embodiment in which the release iscontrolled by the amount of deflection, one half of the binding beingshown without cover plate.

FIG. 4 is the same embodiment as in FIG. 3 with the lateral jaw which isshown on the right in the drawing having been released and the coverplate for the whole binding omitted.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line 55 of FIG. 3.

On the base plate in FIG. 1 there are raised portions 2 which inconjunction with the cover plate 3 form rectangular openings in whichthe whole lateral jaws 4 and 4' are held like drawers. The lateral jawparts 4 and 4' consist of the receiving plates 5 and 5 with raisedserrations 6 and 6'. These serrations 6 and 6' are of circular shape andthe lateral angles 7 and 7 are adjustably fitted to them. The screws 8and 8 guided in the slots 9 and 9', are holding the lateral angles '7and 7'. The shape of the lateral angles 7 and 7' and their angular andlateral adjustability permit adaptation to a boot of any shape. In thebent-up portions 10 and 10 of the lateral angles 7 and 7' slots 11 maybe provided for a toe thong not shown on the drawing. Detent notches 12and 12' are provided in the receiving plates 5 and 5 of the lateral jaws4 and 4'. The detents 13 and 13' are engaging in the detent notches 12and 12', The spring 14 is exerting pressure on the detents 13 and 13which are pivoted on the fixed bolts 15 and 15'. The spring 14 restsagainst the cam 16 with which the spring pressure and thereby therelease force is adjusted. The cam 16 has an operating lever 17 and canbe rotated on the rivet 18. If in case of a sidewise fall the forceacting laterally in the direction of arrow 19 becomes greater than thedetent resistance, the detent 13 due to its slanted sliding surface isforced out of the detent notch 12 whereby the lateral jaw 4 and theboot, respectively, are released. The same effect will take place whenthe force is exerted in the opposite direction. In order to keep thelateral jaws 4 and 4' tied to the binding, short wire cables areslidingly attached to the base plate 1. These cables are made thicker attheir free ends 22 and 22' by, for instance, cable nipples, thuspreventing complete detachment. After the release the whole lateral jaw4 is inserted again into the rectangular opening and the slanted surface23 presses the detent 13 back so that the lateral jaw 4 is pushed up tothe stop face 24 of the lateral jaw 24' and the detent 13 engaged againin the detent notch 12. In order to keep the detents 13 and 13' fromturning too far around the bearing bolt 15 due to the effect of thespring force 14 and thereby preventing the reinsertion of the jaws, astop 25 is installed which limits the travel of the detents 13 and 13'.

In the embodiment shown on the FIGS. 3-5 with deflection-controlledrelease, the foot plate 26 is pivoting on a center 27 in the vicinity ofthe heel on the ski 28. The whole lateral jaws 4 and 4' are builtexactly like in the embodiment of the FIGS. 1 and 2. They too areinserted like drawers in the rectangular openings formed by the footplate 26, its raised sections 2 and the cover plate 29. In this case thedetent notches 30 and 30' in the lateral jaws 4- and 4 are preferablyarranged on the sides toward the end of the ski. The detents 31 and 31are engaging in these detent notches and are in this case preferablysliding parallel to the center line 32 of the foot plate 26. The

sliding of the detent 31 or 31, respectively, is brought about by therotation of the foot plate 26 caused by a force acting crosswise to theski. When swivelling the foot plate 26 to the right, the right detent 31is shifted toward the end of the ski after the swivel angle 38 has beenexceeded and thereby releases the lateral jaw 4 while the arm 34 of thetorsion spring 33 is pressing the detent 31 with the pin 35 against thecam 36. The detent 31 slides along this block until it reaches theslanted surface 37 of the cam 36 and can escape in the direction of theend of the ski. Therefore, a positive release of the lateral jaws 4takes place when a certain swivel angle 38 is reached. The same appliesto the other side when the force is acting in the opposite direction.

On the foot plate 26 there is a nose 46 protruding forward and closingthe guide rod 4-7 by elongated holes shown on FIG. 5. As FIG. 4 shows, aswivel motion of the foot plate 26 compresses one of the helical springs39 or 39, respectively, which are placed around the guide rod 47. If thedeflection angle 38 is not reached, the compression springs 39 or 39',respectively, will return the foot plate 26 to its center position. Inthis manner the compression springs 39 and 39 can absorb minor lateralshocks and allow a determinable swivel range. The force required for therelease is adjusted on the knurled screws 41 and 41, respectively. Afterthe release of one of the lateral jaws 4 and 4' the boot isautomatically disengaged and the released lateral jaw 4 or 4' remainsattached to the steel cable 21 or 21. For insertion of the lateral jawinto the rectangular opening of the foot plate 26 the latter is turnedoutward and returned to the center position with the lateral jaws 4 and4 inserted. The detents 31 and 31 will now again slide along the cam 36until they are engaged in the detent notches 30 and 30'. At and aroundthe cam 36 there is an opening in the foot plate so that its motionswill not be impeded by the cam. The detents 31 and 31 are guided by theslide 42 in slots 43 of the cover plate 29. The torsion spring 33 isplaced around the bolt 44.

What is claimed is:

1. A safety ski binding having lateral jaws for engaging the forwardportion of a ski boot in which an excessive lateral force on saidbinding will cause the lateral jaw to release the boot in the directionof the force, said ski binding comprising two lateral jaws eachconnected to a horizontal receiving plate and extending approximately tothe longitudinal center line of the ski, a guiding device arrangedessentially crosswise to the longitudinal direction of the ski intowhich each said receiving plate is slidably inserted, latching means insaid guiding device, said latching means detachably securing said platesin said guiding device in the inserted position, said plates beingcompletely withdrawable after the latching means has been tripped byapplication of an excessive lateral force.

2. A safety ski binding according to claim 1 in which a short wire cableis provided to connect each lateral jaw to the ski after release of saidbinding.

3. A safety ski binding according to claim 1 in which said latchingdevice comprises detents in said receiving plates, adjustable detentengaging means in said guiding device, said detent engaging means beingset to release when a predetermined lateral force is exceeded.

4. A safety ski binding according to claim 1 in which said receivingplates are insertable in guiding device portions of a foot plate, saidfoot plate being rotatably mounted to a limited extent against a springforce preferably about a pivot axis in the vicinity of the heel of theski boot.

5. A safety device according to claim 4 in which said latching devicereleases when said foot plate rotates to a certain angle.

6. A safety ski binding according to claim 1 wherein said guiding deviceis rotatably mounted on the ski about a pivot axis in the vicinity ofthe ski boot heel, additional guide means are mounted on said skicrosswise to the longitudinal direction of said ski, said guide meansinclud- 6 ing a front extension which slidably moves along said FOREIGNPATENTS additional guide means, and spring bias means being 145 5395/1936 Austria mounted on said guide means to bias said front extension1 126948 8/1956 France" to a neutral position and to be deflected bysaid front 191259 8/1937 Switzerland extension during a swivel movementof said guide means. 5 2o7087 12/1939 Switzerland:

References Cited OTHER REFERENCES Wiederman: German Application Ser. No.1,190,852, UNITED STATES PATENTS printed Apr. 8, 1965, K1. 77b9.

2,308,338 1/1943 McIlvaine 280-4135 19 LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner.

3,284,092 11/ 1966 Rumaner 280-1135 ON L SMITH, Examiner

